Dilbert Dilemma

Tuesday, 01 May 2012 10:26 Written by dnorman 1 Comment

Blog from Bryan Terrill, stratag.org

Long before the NBC debut of The Office, the world fell in love with the office humor of white collar mockery comic strip Dilbert. In Scott Adam’s comic series, Dilbert, a socially unstable engineer, navigates through a challenging corporate culture with peers Wally and Alice under management of Pointy-Haired Boss. Though the satirical office humor of this series seems to be a very simple concept, Dilbert has become global phenomenon, being embraced by 2000 newspapers in 65 countries and in 25 languages worldwide. Why the worldwide success? Dilbert addresses a very real problem that many of us can relate to: the chasm separating nerd and business manager.

How can we solve this problem with our own innovative ideas/technologies?

In the technology world we have a name for that chasm, we call it “technology transfer”. On April 19^th, I attended the 5^th Annual Tech Transfer Conference in Chattanooga, TN, to help launch new Strata-G spin off company (hyper link the last 3 words with SET url) as well as learn more about the tech transfer process. The biggest lesson learned at this gathering was an observation I made during one of the panel discussions. During this discussion a young entrepreneur discussed the challenges he was facing in his new web 2.0 startup. He was joined on stage with a business coach, legal expert, finance consultant, business incubator director, etc. He also referenced technical developers and field experts in his storytelling. This testimony clearly showed that the key to bringing a good idea/technology to market is having the right mix of experts to carry the innovation to the finish line. Dilbert will never be able to implement his ideas with his pointy-haired boss without market researchers, sales consultants, legal experts, finance wizards, and many other constructive supporters helping bridge the gap.

If we can create the right team, maybe Scott Adams won’t be the only one making a profit off the Dilbert’s dilemma.

Innovation and the Spirit of the Pioneer V.3

Tuesday, 13 March 2012 13:48 Written by dnorman 0 Comments

Blog from Danny Norman, stratag.org

Last week, Oak Ridge National Laboratory hosted entrepreneurs, researchers, and large and small businesses at the “Bridging the Gap” event to spotlight research with high commercialization potential. As I listened to the smartest researchers in the world talk about opportunities that lie ahead, I couldn’t help but think about Daniel Boone as he bravely explored the west and “bridged” the Cumberland Gap (please see two previous blogs about Daniel Boone). I wondered what it would be like to journey into new and sometimes mysterious areas like Daniel. I thought about how journeying into some of the areas that were proposed to him would require extreme determination, if not reckless abandon.

But then I thought about how Daniel knew where he was going because he had been there before. When he bridged the gap, as described in previous “Spirit of the Pioneer” blogs, his pioneering was not defined by what he didn’t know, but by his knowledge of Kentucky and Tennessee because he had been there before. The pioneering aspect of what Daniel did was settling his family and friends there. So, another great lesson and inspiration from Daniel Boone on innovation was learned: innovate in fertile areas that you know well.

Bridging the Gap covered very fertile ground: Data Analytics, Advanced Materials, and Clean Tech. Do you know these areas well?

The Power of Awareness: Electric Vehicle Edition

Wednesday, 22 February 2012 13:56 Written by dnorman 0 Comments

Blog from Bryan Terrill, stratag.org

Currently in some cities, the impact of generating enough electricity to power vehicles is more environmentally detrimental than using gasoline. The reason for this is that some areas, such as China, power is generated almost entirely from fossil fuel sources.

That being said, there is a huge push in the United States to put in infrastructure for renewable energy. DOE set the ambitious goal of having 30% of our electricity generated from renewable sources by 2020. If this renewable power generation ramp up continues through the years, then electric vehicles will be a very environmentally friendly alternative.

In general, I’m glad that we are at least developing the EV technology NOW. Presently, I think it’s a little early for massive public EV adoption, but I think there may be a time for that in the future. It is crucial that both EV technology and renewable energy generation infrastructure are developed in parallel.

Ultimately, EV adoption will come down to dollars and cents for consumers. Right now, American EV drivers pay less than 1/3 the price for a gallon of gas equivalent (~$1.00). The price at the pump will drive this market…which will be interesting to watch with the sky high projections we have for this summer.

For now, I’m enjoying my all gasoline 4 cylinder Mazda3, but my next car might refill at an electric socket rather than a gas pump!

Open House to be held February 16

Monday, 13 February 2012 23:07 Written by dnorman 0 Comments

Strata-G Staffing Services will hold an Open House at the Strata-G office on Castaic Lane from 4 to 7 PM.

Strata-G Staffing Services, a partnership of three great companies, Strata-G, Wastren and Stoller, with more than seven decades of combined nuclear and environmental experience, is currently candidates with winning attitudes; a commitment to integrity service and quality; and Department of Energy experience in the following areas:

Administrative & Professional Services
Technical Services
Engineering & Support Services
Environmental Compliance
Nuclear Operations
Safety & Health

Incumbent employees and other interested candidates for all positions must be customer-oriented self-starters who recognized opportunities and enjoy producing results. Sense of humor is a plus. We offer excellent compensation and benefits.

Follow this link for driving directions to the Strata-G office: http://www.stratag.org/driving-directions/

4 Ways to Participate in the Smart Grid Revolution

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 19:22 Written by dnorman 0 Comments

Blog from Bryan Terrill, stratag.org

Do you notice anything strange about the image above? This is a real time image of the Americas taken at 11:15 PM EST August 14^th, 2003. What you should notice is a suspicious black cloud hanging over the north eastern United States and South Eastern Canada. This is a satellite image of the blackout of 2003. This week-long disaster cost the US and Canada an estimated $7-$10 billion in economic loss. This mishap is just an example of the weaknesses in our country’s archaic power grid which is in desperate need of improvement.

So what can we do to play our part in the East Tennessee to “put some brains back into our grid” regionally? I have 4 suggestions for you:

Find out ways to support the University of Tennessee’s CURENT program, an $18 million NSF sponsored program (visit http://curent.utk.edu/).
Discover ways your company can participate in EPRI projects aimed at smart grid technologies (http://smartgrid.epri.com/).
Pursue DOE funding for regional smart grid pilot projects, like this project in the Fort Sanders neighborhood in Knoxville (http://www.smartmeters.com/the-news/732-tennessee-neighborhood-ideal-for-smart-grid-pilot-project.html)
Call your local utility and install a smart meter on your home!